OFFICIAL MEDIA GUIDE OF AUSTRALIA AT THE 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP BRAZIL 0

FIFA WORLD CUP HISTORY
The world's first international football match was
played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and
England. The first international tournament, the British
Home Championship, took place in 1884.
As football began to increase in popularity in other
parts of the world, it was held as a demonstration
sport at the 1900 and 1904 Olympics. At the 1908
London Olympics – four years after FIFA was founded –
football became an official competition. Great Britain
won the first gold medal.
In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic
tournament as an official world football championship.
This paved the way for the world's first
intercontinental football competition, at the 1920
Olympics, won by Belgium. Uruguay won the next two
Olympic tournaments in 1924 and 1928.
Due to the success of the Olympic tournaments, FIFA
decided to stage and organise its own world
championship. FIFA named Uruguay – the winners of
the previous two football world championships – as
the host country of the inaugural FIFA World Cup
tournament in 1930. Uruguay defeated Argentina in
the final to be the first nation to win the World Cup.
Due to the difficulties in travelling before World War 2,
only a small number of nations outside of the host
continent took part in the first three FIFA World Cups
1930, 1934 and 1938.
Following the World War 2, the FIFA World Cup
resumed in Brazil in 1950, where Uruguay won it again
by defeating the host nation in front of 200,000 people
at Rio De Janeiro's Maracana Stadium.
Returning to Europe, the 1954 tournament in
Switzerland was the first to feature 16 teams, and with
140 goals scored in 26 games, it holds the record for
most average goals per game (5.4).
Brazil commenced a long phase of FIFA World Cup
dominance in 1958, easily defeating host nation Sweden
in the final. World Cup championship success for Brazil
continued in 1962 (held in Chile) and 1970 (Mexico).
Meanwhile the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England
witnessed a spectacular success for the host nation, a
Geoff Hurst hat-trick helping the English to a 4-2 final
win over West Germany at Wembly.
After unsuccessfully attempting to qualify for the 1966
and 1970 finals, Australia qualified for its first FIFA
World Cup in 1974. Losses to host nation and eventual
1974 Champions West Germany, and strong
neighbours East Germany, were followed by a
scoreless draw with Chile, allowing the Aussies to
return home with a respectable record.
It was Argentina's turn to celebrate in 1978, as the
South Americans hosted and won the FIFA World Cup.
The Netherlands were the FIFA World Cup final losers
for the second successive tournament.
In 1982 the tournament expanded to 24 teams, with
Spain hosting and Italy winning its second FIFA World
Cup final. West Germany lost its second FIFA World Cup
final in a row in Mexico in 1986, when Diego Maradona
inspired Argentina to its second World Cup triumph in
eight years. The West Germans gained revenge at Italia
'90, with the 1-0 win over Argentina in the final being
the last match played by West Germany, as the unified
German team competed from 1994.
The first FIFA World Cup played outside of Europe or
South America took place in 1994 when the USA
hosted a successful tournament. Brazil won the first
FIFA World Cup final to go to penalties.
By 1998 the FIFA World Cup finals had increased to 32
participants, and it was France who became the first
team since Argentina twenty years earlier to take out a
FIFA World Cup final for the first time.
Amazingly it took until 2002 for the FIFA World Cup's
two most successful teams to play each other for the
first time in any FIFA World Cup match, Brazil defeating
Germany 2-0 in the final of the tournament held jointly
by Japan and South Korea.
Australia returned to FIFA World Cup action in
Germany in 2006, the Socceroos gloriously qualifying
for the Round of 16 where the Aussies were undone by
eventual Champions Italy.
In 2010 the FIFA World Cup went to Africa for the first
time, where Australia failed to make the group stage in
South Africa after finishing third on goal difference.
The FIFA World Cup returns to Brazil in 2014, the
twentieth edition of the tournament. Russia will host
the FIFA World Cup in 2018 followed by Qatar in 2022.
FIFA WORLD CUP PARTICIPANTS by confederation
1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Europe 4 12 12 6 12 12 10 10 9 9 10 14 14 14 13 15 15 14 13 13
South America 7 2 1 5 2 3 5 4 3 4 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 4 5 6
Other America 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 3 4
Africa – 1 – – – – – – 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 5 5 5 6 5
Asia – – 1 – 1 – – 1 1 – 1 1 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4
Oceania – – – – – – – – – 1 – 1 – – – – – 1 1 –
OFFICIAL MEDIA GUIDE OF AUSTRALIA AT THE 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP BRAZIL 114